In a production test that compared drilling speeds for brass alloys with those for two steel types, brass won hands down, with drilling speeds that reached 2,000 Surface Feet per Minute (SFM). By contrast, speeds for 304L stainless steel reached only 250 SFM, and for 12L14, only 800 SFM. The test consisted of drilling at least 1,000 1.50″-deep holes before reaching end of life on a 0.50” carbide drill. Brass also required significantly less power than both steels to remove comparable amounts of material.